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The ''Annals'' ((ラテン語:Annales)) by Roman historian and senator Tacitus is a history of the Roman Empire from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero, the years AD 14–68.〔 The ''Annals'' are an important source to modern understanding of the history of the Roman Empire during the first century.〔 The ''Annals'' is Tacitus' final work, and modern historians generally consider it his greatest writing.〔 Historian Ronald Mellor considers it "Tacitus's crowning achievement" which represents the "pinnacle of Roman historical writing".〔''Tacitus' Annals'' by Ronald Mellor 2010 ISBN 0-19-515192-5 Oxford page 23〕 Tacitus' ''Histories'' and ''Annals'' together amounted to thirty books; although some scholars disagree about which work to assign some books to, traditionally fourteen are assigned to ''Histories'' and sixteen to ''Annals''. Of the 30 books referred to by Jerome about half have survived.〔 Modern scholars believe that as a Roman senator, Tacitus had access to ''Acta Senatus''—the Roman senate's records—thus providing a solid basis for his work.〔 Although Tacitus refers to part of his work as "my annals", the title of the work ''Annals'' used today was not assigned by Tacitus himself, but derives from its year-by-year structure.〔〔 The name of the current manuscript seems to be "Books of History from the Death of the Divine Augustus" (''ラテン語:Ab Excessu divi Augusti Historiarum Libri''). ==Background and structure== The ''Annals'' was Tacitus' final work and provides a key source for modern understanding of the history of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Tiberius in AD 14 to the end of the reign of Nero, in AD 68.〔 Tacitus wrote the ''Annals'' in at least 16 books, but books 7–10 and parts of books 5, 6, 11 and 16 are missing.〔 The period covered by the ''Histories'' (written before the ''Annals'') starts at the beginning of the year AD 69, i.e. six months after the death of Nero and continues to the death of Domitian in 96.〔 It is not known when Tacitus began writing the Annals, but he was well into writing it by AD 116.〔''The Annals: The Reigns of Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero'' by Cornelius Tacitus and J. C. Yardley ISBN 0-19-282421-X Oxford pages ii to xxvii〕 Modern scholars believe that as a senator, Tacitus had access to ''Acta Senatus'', the Roman senate's records, thus providing a solid basis for his work.〔 Together the ''Histories'' and the ''Annals'' amounted to 30 books.〔 These thirty books are referred to by Saint Jerome, and about half of them have survived.〔 Although some scholars differ on how to assign the books to each work, traditionally fourteen are assigned to ''Histories'' and sixteen to the ''Annals''.〔 Tacitus' friend Pliny referred to "your histories" when writing to him about his earlier work.〔 Although Tacitus refers to part of his work as "my annals", the title of the work ''Annals'' used today was not assigned by Tacitus himself, but derives from its year-by-year structure.〔〔 Of the sixteen books in ''Annals'', the reign of Tiberius takes up six books, of which only Book 5 is missing. These books are neatly divided into two sets of three, corresponding to the change in the nature of the political climate during the period.〔 The next six books are devoted to the reigns of Caligula and Claudius. Books 7 through 10 are missing. Books 11 & 12 cover the period from the treachery of Messalina to the end of Claudius' reign. The final four books cover the reign of Nero and Book 16 cuts off in the middle of the year AD 66.〔''Tacitus and the Writing of History'' by Ronald H. Martin 1981 ISBN 0-520-04427-4 pages 104–105〕 This leaves the material that would have covered the final two years of Nero's reign lost.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Annals (Tacitus)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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